Long Name: Italian Republic
Short Name (local): Italia
Long Name (local): Repubblica Italiana
Member of European Union: Yes, 1957
International Dialing Code: +39
Capital City: Rome
National Tourist Office: Italian State Tourism Board, Italian Government Tourist Board (USA)
Foreign Embassies in Italy: Australia | Canada | U.K. | U.S.
Embassies and Visa Information: In Australia | In Canada | In the U.K. | In the U.S.
Nationality: Noun - Italian(s), Adjective - Italian
Government Type: Republic
Ethnic Groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions: Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Monetary Unit: 1 Euro = 100 cents
Area: 301,230 sq km - slightly larger than Arizona
Climate: Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Population: 58,057,477 (July 2004 est.)
Sex Ratio: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Median Age: 41.4 years, male 39.8 years, female 43 years (2004 est.)
Life Expectancy: 79.54 years, male 76.61 years, female 82.66 years (2004 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.09% (2004 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (2003 est.)
Gross National Income: US$21,560 (2003, World Bank)
Export Commodities: Engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals
Export Partners: Germany 13.8%, France 12.3%, US 8.5%, Spain 7%, UK 6.9% (2003 est.)
Import Commodities: Engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco
Import Partners: Germany 17.9%, France 11.2%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.8%, UK 4.7%, Belgium 4.3%, US 4% (2003 est.)
Natural Resources: Coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land
Public Television: Rai
Public Radio: Rai
Graphics and statistics are public domain courtesy of The CIA World Factbook.
Outline map courtesy of WorldAtlas.com.